


Plan on Forever

by ReddieOrNot (cajungirlkye)



Series: Plan on Forever [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Alternate Universe - The Wedding Planner Fusion, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:02:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cajungirlkye/pseuds/ReddieOrNot
Summary: Richie Tozier is THE go-to wedding planner in NYC. When he meets Eddie Kaspbrak, a handsome doctor, there is instant chemistry. But when Eddie turns out to be the groom in the wedding he was just hired to plan, Richie must plan the wedding of the century all while fighting his growing attraction.AKA The Wedding Planner, but with Reddie.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Myra Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Eventual Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Series: Plan on Forever [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805791
Comments: 19
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

"Breathe, Cora," Richie Tozier said as he looked at Cora Tyler (soon to be Manchester)'s reflection in the full-length mirror before them. "You got this."

"What if this is all wrong?" Cora replied nervously, wringing her hands. "What if I'm making a mistake? What if I'm marrying the wrong guy? I look terrible in this dress, I don’t think I can go through with this." She started breathing rapidly.

Richie placed his hands on Cora's shoulders and gently turned her towards him. "Hey, Cora, look at me. Breathe with me. In… out… in… out… Good." He breathed deeply, guiding the nervous bride to follow his breathing pattern until she had calmed down.

He turned Cora back towards the mirror. "Now, look at yourself. You are absolutely radiant. You have a man named Mark waiting out there for you who loves you more than anything. You know what he said to me yesterday at the rehearsal? He said, ‘Wow, look at her, Richie. How did I get to be so lucky as to spend the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman in the world?’ I can’t wait to marry her tomorrow’."

A small smile bloomed on Cora's face. "He really said that?"

Richie nodded. "He did. And you know what? He's right. You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen and I know you and Mark will be together forever."

Cora gave Richie a brief hug. "Thanks, Richie."

There was a knock on the door, then Richie's assistant, Patty, poked her head into the room. "Hey, Richie, the florist is asking for you."

Richie nodded. "Excuse me, will you, Cora?"

He smoothed his hands down the front of his button-down suit and walked out of the room. “What’s wrong?” he asked as soon as he was out of earshot.

“We can’t find Cora’s dad.”

“Okay, give me 5 minutes. You go stall.” Richie checked the men’s room, the chapel, and the Sunday school room, all to no avail. On a hunch, he checked the cry room and found the father of the bride sitting in a pew, sobbing.

“My little girl’s getting married,” he cried. “Seems like just yesterday I was teaching her how to ride a bike.” He gave a hiccuping sob. “And now she’s all grown up!”

“She’ll always be your little girl,” Richie said soothingly. “You’ll still have those memories, right? And you’ll be able to make new ones.”

He opened his messenger bag and pulled out a bottle of water and two Tylenol and handed them to Cora’s dad. “Here, take these. You don’t want to wind up with a headache.”

“Thanks.” Mr. Tyler took a grateful sip of the water. “Who are you, anyway?”

Richie smiled gently at the older man. “I’m the wedding planner.”

* * *

“Another perfect wedding,” Patty high-fived Richie as they left the reception. “As if anyone expected anything less from the most sought-after wedding planner in the Tri-State area.”

“With the best assistant,” Richie replied. “Seriously, I couldn’t do it without you, Pats.”

“Hey, you want to come over for dinner? Stan’s grilling steaks.”

Richie shook his head. He loved his job and he loved  _ love _ , but after pulling off a successful wedding he liked to do nothing more than unwind at home with a bottle of wine and whatever trashy TV reality show he had on his DVR.

“I’d love to, but I’m really tired. I think I’m just gonna call it a night, k?” Richie gave Patty a brief hug. “Give Stan my love, though.”

“Will do. See you on Monday.”

Richie headed towards his apartment, stopping at the bodega on the corner to pick up a bottle of wine first before unlocking the front door of his building and heading up to his apartment.

He busied himself with heating a TV dinner in the microwave, poured himself a glass of wine, and settled in front of the TV, also grabbing that day’s paper and opening it to the society section. “Let’s see what potential clients we have today.”

His eyes zeroed in on a particular name.

**Myra Walker to Wed**

Richie quickly skimmed the announcement. Myra Walker was the daughter of Martin and Sarah Walker, who had recently sold their tech startup company for millions of dollars. The article mostly focused on the Walkers and their company, but did actually mention that their daughter had recently gotten engaged. The fact that they had actually announced their daughter’s engagement in the society section of the New York Times meant that they wanted a high-class wedding, and who better to offer them that but Richie? 

A plan formed in Richie’s mind and he grabbed his phone, did a quick Google search, then hit dial.

He nervously tapped his knee as the line rang. “Hello?” a voice on the other end answered.

“Hi, yes, is this Myra Walker?”

“Yes, speaking. May I ask who’s calling?”

“My name is Richie Tozier. I’m a wedding planner at Covell Events LLC, and I noticed in the society section today that you were getting married…”


	2. Chapter 2

Monday morning, Richie walked into Steve Covell’s office and slapped the newspaper down on his desk.

“Good morning to you too, Richie,” Steve said dryly.

“Myra Walker. Her parents started their tech company in their garage. Now, 2 years later, they just sold their first app to Google for 5 million dollars.”

“Okay,” Steve said, steepling his fingers and looking at Richie over his hands.

“They put Myra’s wedding announcement in the society pages. They obviously want everyone to know that their little girl is getting married, which means that they want this to be the social event of the year, _meaning_ they want the best.” 

Richie grinned. “I already reached out to them -- they’re coming to the Baxter wedding to see my work. Just think about it, this’ll be our biggest event ever! We’ll be in every bridal magazine in the country. We’ll be featured on The Knot! Everyone will know about Covell Events, LLC and want us for their event planning.”

He leaned down and put his hands flat on Steve’s desk. “And when I pull off this wedding, Steve, you're going to make me a partner.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “A partner?” he repeated incredulously. “A _partner?_ Richie, you’re a fantastic wedding planner. Incredible. Never had anything less than a 5-star rating. But I built this business from the ground up.”

“You also never made any money,” Richie replied.

Steve groaned at the reminder. 

“Until I came along!” Richie added. “I’ve made you money hand over fist over the past 6 years. I’ve brought in ten times more money solo than all of your other event planners have _combined_ . Ten times! I know you need me here. _You_ know you need me here. If it weren’t for me you’d still be planning bar mitzvahs in Schenectady.”

“Ehh,” Steve hedged.

 _Time to bring out the big guns_ , Richie thought. “Well, I could always just quit and go start my own company…” Richie mused.

Steve narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Richie sat in the chair in front of Steve’s desk with a faux casualness. “Let’s see, what should I call it?” he mused. “Tozier Event Coordinators? Tozier Wedding Design? Hmm…”

Steve looked panicked at the thought of losing his biggest moneymaker. “Okay, okay. Fine. You pull off this wedding and I will make you a partner.”

“Deal.” Richie stuck his hand out for Steve to shake. “Partner.”

* * *

The following Saturday, Richie stood in the back of the reception hall as the best man gave his speech. “May you turn to one another in times of need, comfort each other in times of sadness, and celebrate each other in times of joy,” he said into his headset as Randall repeated his words.

“Good, now raise your glass and toast the happy couple...” Richie grinned and removed his headset, feeling triumphant.

“That was absolutely brilliant,” a voice spoke up from behind him.

Richie turned to see a short blonde-haired woman. “You don’t think he’d have been able to come up with that himself, did you?” He grinned and stuck his hand out. “You must be Myra. I’m Richie.”

Myra took Richie’s hand and gave it a brief shake. “This is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “My fiance’ should definitely see this, but he had some sort of emergency at work.”

Richie nodded. “Most guys don’t even care about romance, especially details surrounding weddings. You just gotta tell them when and where to show up.”

Myra laughed. “Yeah, that’s definitely my Cass. Took him ten years just to propose and another year to set a date.” She shook her head fondly. “Here, come meet my parents.”

She led Richie over near the buffet. “Richie, these are my parents, Sarah and Martin. This is Richie Tozier, the wedding planner.”

“So, _you’re_ the wedding planner,” Mr. Martin said. “Don’t see a lot of men in that field, do ya?”

“Dad,” Myra said warningly. “We talked about this. Richie came very highly recommended.”

Richie just shrugged. He was used to being scrutinized for being a male in a very female-driven career. “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Everything is just lovely,” Mrs. Walker said. “You really have an eye for detail.”

“Speaking of details,” Mr. Walker chimed in, “I want no expense spared for this wedding. You give our Myra whatever she wants. This is an important event, we have a lot of people to impress."

“Um, Dad, we haven’t actually hired Richie yet,” Myra replied. 

“We were just was wondering what you would envision for Myra’s wedding,” Mrs. Walker said gently. “To help us make a final decision, of course.”

“Well,” Richie began, “now having met you, I’m thinking outdoors, a fountain in the background, harpist playing a gentle strum as you walk down the aisle…”

* * *

“Steve? Yeah, I got the Walker account,” Richie said into his phone as he walked down the sidewalk toward the empty crosswalk. “The only stipulation is that they want the wedding in 3 months. Of course they would want a June wedding.”

“3 months?” Steve’s voice sounded incredulous. “Do you seriously think you’ll be able to pull a wedding of that size off in 3 months?”

Richie rolled his eyes. “Of _course_ I can do it, who do you think I am? Do you know how many vendors owe me favors?”

He paused as he reached the crosswalk. “Look, I gotta go, but I’ll be emailing the Walkers the contract first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Ok, I’ll see you in the office then.” After a beat, Steve added begrudgingly, “And good job.”

“Thanks,” Richie said. “See you tomorrow.”

He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. As he did so, his messenger bag slipped off of his shoulder and fell to the ground, right over a sewer grate in the middle of the street.

He stooped down to pick up the bag, went to straighten back up, and was jerked back down as the metal buckle on the strap caught on the grate. 

“Oh dammit,” he muttered, tugging on the bag.

Little did he know an inattentive Uber driver had hit a metal construction roll-off container, which was now rolling straight for him. By the time he had noticed the container, it was too late.

Richie braced for impact. 

Suddenly he felt himself being knocked out of the way and heard the sound of the container harmlessly hitting the curb right where he had been seconds before.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” a voice asked. 

Richie tried to focus on the person (man?) behind the voice but his glasses had been knocked off in the scuffle. He squinted. “My glasses…”

“Oh, here.” The blur reached out and grabbed Richie’s glasses, gently sliding the miraculously unbroken frames back on his face.

Richie blinked as the most attractive man he had ever seen in his life came into focus. The man had short dark hair, big brown eyes, and was hovering over Richie at the perfect angle to where Richie could fuse their lips together if he so chose.

“Are you okay?” the man asked again. 

“Never better,” Richie replied automatically. “Where’s my bag?”

“Your bag?” The man held up Richie’s messenger bag. “Right here, you have it right here.”

Richie glanced over at his bag. “Oh good.” 

The man placed both hands on Richie’s face. “I should make sure you don’t have a concussion…” He peered into Richie’s eyes. “I don’t think you hit your head when you fell.”

“You mean when you knocked me down,” Richie replied.

The man blinked in surprise. “Well it was either push you out of the way or let you be flattened by a construction roll-off container.”

He moved off of Richie and helped him sit up.

Richie’s head swam. He looked over at the man. “You saved… my bag,” he said nonsensically. “My life. My life is in that bag.”

The man grinned at him. “Well good to know that I was able to rescue it… and you as well.”

“Thank you,” Richie managed to get out before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Richie registered the steady beeping as his eyes fluttered open. He hissed and shielded them from a bright light in his face. "Ugh, am I dead?" he groaned. 

A small laugh drew his attention. "No, you're at the hospital."

Richie opened his eyes again and spotted a young boy with dark, curly hair sitting on the edge of his bed. His left arm was in a cast. 

"Hospital? Why am I--"

Richie cut himself off as he remembered.  _ My bag, the roll-off container, the hot guy who knocked me out of the way… _

Richie wished he had at least gotten his hot rescuer’s name before he had passed out, just so he could send the guy a fruit basket or thank you card or something for saving Richie's life. Maybe he had left it with the hospital…

The boy interrupted Richie's train of thought. "I'm Dean," he said. “I broke my arm when I fell off my skateboard.”

Richie opened his mouth to introduce himself to Dean when he heard a semi-familiar voice.

"Hey, how's our patient?"

Richie looked over to see his hot rescuer leaning against the doorframe. He was wearing a white lab coat over his clothes and had a stethoscope around his neck. 

Richie’s mouth went dry.  _ What the actual fuck??? _

“I think he’s still confused,” Dean said, hopping off of the bed. 

“Well then why don’t you scoot on back to your own room and let me check him over,” Doctor Hottie said.

Richie watched as Dean gave Dr. Hottie a high-five on the way out. 

He blinked up at Dr. Hottie. “You’re --”

“Eddie Kaspbrak. I’m the head of emergency here at NY Presbyterian.”

“I’m Richie --”

“Tozier, yeah, I know.” Dr. Kaspbrak ( _ again, what the actual fuck?????  _ Richie thought _ ) _ said. “I had to go through your wallet to get your ID. Sorry about the invasion of privacy.”

Richie shrugged. “If my credit card number gets stolen I’ll know who to blame,” he joked.

Dr. Kaspbrak grinned. “Glad to see your sense of humor is intact.” He pulled his penlight out of his pocket and quickly shone it in Richie’s face to check his pupils. “Anyway, your CAT scan came back clear, no head or neck trauma, so we can remove this…”

Dr. Kaspbrak removed the neck brace Richie had just realized he was wearing, caressing Richie’s skin as he un-Velcroed the straps. “Now, we’ll check your blood pressure then as soon as we get your lab results you'll be on your way.”

Richie gave him a tight smile as Dr. Kaspbrak gently turned his arm over in order to wrap a blood pressure cuff around his arm then turned to press a button on a nearby machine.

“Let me also check your pulse…” Dr. Kaspbrak’s fingers slid down Richie’s arm to rest on his wrist.

_ Christ, this guy’s gonna be the death of me, _ Richie thought, willing himself to remain calm. _ Good thing I’m already in a hospital. _

Dr. Kaspbrak smiled at the readout on the screen. “Ok, everything is good. Why don’t you wait for me in my office and I’ll go check on those lab results.”

He led Richie to a small, but tidy office down the hall. “I’ll be right back.”

Richie looked around the office. There was a framed medical degree from John Hopkins University on the wall as well as a photo of Eddie from what appeared to be his graduation day, but other than that there was no personal memorabilia.

Richie caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror on Dr. Kaspbrak’s wall and did a double-take in alarm. His hair, which was difficult to tame on the best of days, stuck out wildly and his suit was wrinkled. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair, tugged his suit down to the best of his ability, and dug in his messenger bag for his emergency Chapstick. He heard footsteps down the hall and frantically applied the Chapstick before throwing it back into his bag haphazardly and himself into the chair in front of Dr. Kaspbrak’s desk, casually crossing his legs in order to appear nonchalant. 

“Okay, well, I’ve got your lab results here,” Dr. Kaspbrak said, looking down at the papers he was carrying as he sat at his desk. “Everything looked mostly okay, but your iron was a bit low. That combined with the trauma is probably why you fainted.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, I didn’t get a chance to eat today,” Richie replied. “Too busy with work. Normally I at least get a Power Bar in but today was extra hectic.”

Dr. Kaspbrak glanced up at him. “Ok, well, I’m going to prescribe you a multivitamin just in case…” He reached for his prescription pad. “I’d also like for you to follow up with your primary care doctor in 30 days to re-check your bloodwork.”

Richie raised an eyebrow. “Don’t want to examine me again yourself, Dr. Kaspbrak?”

Dr. Kaspbrak leaned forward with a smirk. “That’s not normally how it works, unfortunately.”

His gaze dropped back down to Richie’s prescription. “And, uh, you can call me Eddie.”

Richie smiled softly, “Okay… Eddie.”

Eddie rubbed the back of his neck. "But, uh, I was thinking maybe we could grab a bite to eat? Once I check you out -- I mean, get you checked out."

Richie bit his lip.  _ Fuck _ . "I'd love to, really, but I can't. I already have plans for tonight."

At Eddie's crestfallen look he quickly added, "but you can join me! I was just going to meet up with my friend Patty at that ‘Shakespeare in the Park' thing tonight, you know, in Central Park? They're showing the Baz Luhrmann version of  _ Romeo + Juliet _ ."

Eddie grinned. "I love that movie. If you're sure it's not an imposition, I'd love to come."

"I'm sure Patty won't mind at all," Richie said. “It starts at seven, so I’ll meet you there around 6:30 so we can get our refreshments and get a seat?”

“That sounds great.”

There was a knock on the door and Richie turned to see one of the nurses standing there. “Dr. Kaspbrak, here are those discharge papers you asked for for Mr. Tozier.”

“Great, thanks Wendy,” Eddie replied. 

He scribbled something down on the top of the paper and handed it and the vitamin prescription to Richie. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Richie glanced down at the handwritten note:

**Eddie, 555-2173.** A small scribble was next to the three, as if Eddie had originally added something to it but then changed his mind.

“Great,” Richie echoed. “See you then.”

He got up, giving Eddie a small wave before heading down the hall to the elevator. 

As soon as he got outside he pulled up Patty’s contact info and hit dial. “Pats, you’ll  _ never _ believe what just happened…"  
  


* * *

Later that evening, Richie stood with Patty while they waited for Eddie to arrive. "That's so  _ romantic _ ," Patty said with a sigh as Richie finished filling her in on the day's events. "What a story to tell your future grandkids."

"Woah, woah," Richie said with a laugh. "I literally just met the guy. No need to start booking churches just yet." He smiled softly. "Although maybe one day, who knows."

Patty squealed happily. "Richie, I'm so happy. You haven't been on a date in two years, much less actually have been interested in someone! I can't wait to meet this guy."

Richie grinned as his phone lit up with a text. "Well now's your chance."

**I’m here,** Eddie's text read.

_ Awesome! _ Richie replied.  _ Patty and I are in line to get snacks. You want anything? My treat. _

**Some M &M’s would be nice, thanks!**

_ Ok, meet you by the fountain in a few? _

**Great. See you then. :)**

Richie locked his phone and stuck it back in his pocket. “How do I look, Pats?”

He had hurried home to shower and change before heading to the park, choosing a simple (for him, anyway) Hawaiian shirt and jeans.

Patty gave him a grin. “You look great, Rich. This guy won’t know what hit him.”

They placed their order -- Richie getting a small popcorn and Eddie’s M&Ms, and Patty refusing to get anything. “Oh, I ate at home,” she said.

Richie shrugged and collected his snacks.

They made their way over to the fountain, where Eddie was sitting and looking at his phone. He looked up and grinned. “Well hello there!”

“So glad you made it,” Richie said as they walked up. “Eddie, this is Patty Uris. Patty, this is Dr. Eddie Kasprak. He’s the one who pushed me out of the way of that construction dumpster earlier today."

“Hi,” Patty said, shaking Eddie’s hand. “I just want to say thank you so much for saving Richie. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Just doing my civic duty,” Eddie replied. “I wouldn’t be much of a doctor if I had let Richie here get flattened like a pancake, would I?” He smiled. “Besides, it was my pleasure.”

Richie blushed.

Patty looked at her watch. “Oh, darn, I just remembered… It’s my nephew’s bar mitzvah tonight, and I promised I’d go look after my grandmother… because she’s going out of town tomorrow! Geez, wish I could stay, hate to have to go, bye!” 

Richie watched as Patty backed away. “Bye Pats,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

“Nice to meet you,” Eddie called out before turning back around.

Patty pointed at Eddie.  _ He’s cute, _ she mouthed silently.  _ Call me later! _

Richie shook his head fondly. 

Eddie grinned. “Hope her nephew has a good bar mitzvah.” He gestured toward the lawn. “Shall we go find seats?”

“Oh, no need,” Richie replied. “Follow me.”

He led Eddie to a low-hanging tree branch that made the perfect bench. “Thanks for guarding my tree, Ben,” he said to the security guard that was standing nearby. “Ben, this is Eddie Kaspbrak. Eddie, Ben Hanscom.”

“Nice to meet you,” Eddie said.

“Likewise,” Ben replied. “Richie, you didn’t mention you were bringing a date tonight.” His raised eyebrow said  _ but I had already heard about it _ . 

“It’s not a--” Richie began. He was going to kill Patty.

“So, Eddie, what do you do?” Ben asked.

“I’m a doctor,” Eddie replied. “Excuse me, how do you two know each other?”

“Ben and I went to college together. We were roommates.”

“I’m in architecture,” Ben explained. “I just do this as volunteer work on the weekends.”

“Oh, okay,” Eddie said.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Eddie. Richie, I’ll see you at game night?”

“Absolutely,” Richie replied. “I still owe you from your last Clue win!”

Ben chuckled. “Enjoy the movie, you two.” He walked away.

“Game night?” Eddie asked as they sat.

“Oh, yeah, every week a few of my friends and I get together for dinner at one of our houses and play board games. Last time we played Clue Ben figured out that it was Mrs. White in the ballroom with the candlestick within 15 minutes. Goes down as our shortest Clue session to date.”

Richie watched with fascination as Eddie opened his M&Ms, shaking a few into his hands and picking out all but the brown ones. “Wait, what are you doing? You only eat the brown ones? Why?”

“Well," Eddie explained, popping one into his mouth and chewing slowly, “I figure since chocolate’s already brown, these have less artificial food coloring.”

_ Holy shit, I’m in love,  _ Richie thought. That was  _ the _ most adorable thing he had ever heard. 

Obviously Eddie felt the need to explain, because he continued. “My, uh, my mom was pretty overbearing when I was a kid, wouldn’t let me have sugar or candy or a bunch of other stuff because I was ‘allergic’ to a lot of things, including artificial coloring.” He included air quotes around the word ‘allergic’. “As I got older I realized that a lot of my allergies weren’t real and that my asthma was really anxiety, so I threw away my inhaler and started eating things that had always been deemed ‘bad’ for me, but I still try to shy away from artificial coloring.” He shrugged. “It’s kind of the one thing I’ve stuck with.”

“Huh,” Richie said. “Okay.”

Eddie looked at him in surprise. “You don’t think that’s weird?”

Richie shrugged. “Not really?” He glanced back down at his popcorn and missed the look of gratefulness Eddie shot him and when he glanced back up the moment had passed.

“So, when do you and your friends have game night?” Eddie asked, but the movie was beginning so they dropped their conversation.

They sat quietly together watching the movie. When Romeo and Juliet locked eyes across the fish tank (Richie’s favorite part) and “Kissing You” began, several couples got up to dance.

Richie glanced over at Eddie, who was watching the movie with a soft smile on his face. “I love this part,” Richie said softly. “Would you, uh, would you maybe…” he gestured over at the dancing couples. “Wanna dance?”

“Oh, uh, I haven’t danced in a long time...” Eddie replied.

“Oh, that’s okay then,” Richie mumbled, looking down at his feet.

“...But I’d love to dance with you.”

Richie’s eyes shot back up to Eddie.

Eddie slid off of the tree branch and took off his coat, revealing a baby-blue pullover sweater, which he had paired with a well-fitting pair of dark blue pants.  _ Hmm, seems like he had gone home to change as well _ , Richie thought.

Eddie held out a hand to Richie with a smile. “Shall we?”

Richie took Eddie’s hand as Eddie led him a short ways away from the tree.

Eddie pulled him in close.

“You’re a really good dancer,” Richie said, impressed. 

“Well, when I was a kid I wanted to play baseball,” Eddie explained, “but instead, my mother signed me up for ballroom lessons.” 

He spun Richie out and in one smooth motion, pulled him back in even closer than they had been before. 

Richie could smell the subtle scent of Eddie’s cologne, earthy mixed with the scent of Eddie’s soap and something else Richie couldn’t quite place. He tilted his head down to whisper in Eddie’s ear. “Game night is on Mondays at 7. This week’s at my house. Maybe you should be there.” He straightened back up to look into Eddie’s eyes.

They stopped swaying. “Maybe I should,” Eddie murmured back as he tilted his face up and Richie tilted his down.

Right before their lips connected a loud clap of thunder sounded, causing them to jump back.

“Oh, shit,” Richie said as it began to rain and people began to scatter.

They ran back towards the park entrance, stopping once they were back on the sidewalk.

“I had a really great time,” Richie laughed. 

“Me too,” Eddie said with a smile, his dark hair starting to curl at the edges.

Richie wanted to bury his hands in it.

“I’m parked over here,” Richie said instead, pointing to the right. 

Eddie pointed to the left. "I'm this way."

Richie bit his lip. “I’m, uh, I’m busy tomorrow morning with work, but I’ll text you tomorrow night with my address?” Richie had a morning wedding, then he was meeting up with Myra and her fiance'.

“Sounds good.” 

“Good night, Eddie.” 

“Good night, Richie.”

Richie ran to his car, a newer red Mustang convertible, glad that he hadn’t accidentally left the top down. He drove home, parked in the garage next door to his building, and made his way up to his apartment. 

He changed out of his wet clothes and into a comfortable pair of sweatpants then climbed into bed, exhausted from the day’s events, and fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of dark brown eyes and curly dark hair.


	4. Chapter 4

“So? Tell me _everything_ ,” Patty exclaimed the next morning.

Richie grinned. “Patty, a girl never kisses and tells.”

Patty gasped. “ _You kissed him?_ ”

Richie shook his head. “No, but we _almost_ did.” He gave Patty a quick rundown of the previous evening’s events.

“Oh my god, I’m so happy for you!” Patty wrapped Richie up in a hug.

“Happy for what?” a voice chimed in from behind them. 

Richie turned around. “Myra! Good morning!”

“Richie met a guy!” Patty exclaimed happily.

“Well that _is_ wonderful news,” Myra replied with a genuine smile. “Tell me about him.”

“Well, we met when he saved my life, then we watched a movie in the park…” Richie gave Myra a brief version of his date with Eddie while Patty went to check on the reception.

“Wow,” Myra said after he was done. “That’s so romantic! He saved your life, you danced together, kissed in the rain…”

 _“Almost_ kissed,” Richie corrected. “I don’t know though, I’m so out of the loop when it comes to dating. It’s been so long.”

“You? Really? I figured you’d be an expert on dating.”

Richie snorted. “You know how they say those who can’t do, teach? Well, those who can’t wed, plan.”

“I can help you,” Myra said. “Trust me, I’ll have this guy proposing to you in no time.”

Richie was distracted by Patty running up. “Richie, I’m so sorry, but I have to go. The babysitter had some sort of family emergency and now I have to go pick up Charlotte.”

“Yeah, sure, go ahead, I got this,” Richie replied. He turned to Myra. “We’ll continue this conversation later?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Myra turned to go, then turned back. “Oh wait, before I forget, Cass and I had to switch our dance lesson from tomorrow to tonight, if you could swing by you’ll be able to meet him. Sorry he couldn’t make it yesterday, he said he had an emergency at work after rescuing some old lady.”

“Sure, I can make it,” Richie said. “We can start talking about your first dance while I’m there.”

“Great. See you then!”

* * *

Richie made sure the rest of the reception went off without a hitch (which it did, of course) and headed home for a quick nap before making his way to Salle de Bal Dance Studio.

Myra was waiting outside for him. “Myra, hi!” he greeted, giving her a quick hug. “Where’s your fiance’?”

“Oh, he should be here any minute,” Myra replied.

“Ok, good.”

“Richie, how are you?” 

Richie turned to see Audra Phillips, the owner of Salle de Bal. “Audra, hi!” He turned back to Myra. “Excuse me just a second, ok?”

Myra nodded as her phone chimed with a text alert.

“It’s been a while,” Audra said. “How have you been?”

“Doing great,” Richie replied. “How’s business?”

“Fantastic since you’ve been recommending me to all of your clients.” 

Richie shrugged casually. “Well, I _do_ want to send them to the best dance studio in New York.”

Audra shook her head. “Richie, you flatterer. I have to get class started now but we’ll catch up later, okay?”

Richie nodded. “Okay. Sounds good, Auds.”

He walked back over to Myra, who was talking with a dark-haired gentleman wearing a blue suit whose back was to Richie.

“Oh, good. Cass, hon, this is our wedding planner. Richie, this is my fiance’, Cass.”

The man turned around and Richie’s heart fell to his knees.

_Eddie?_

Eddie/Cass's eyes widened. “Uh…”

Richie stuck out a hand for Eddie/Cass to shake. “Richie Tozier,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”

Eddie/Cass blinked. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I’m so glad you two have finally met,” Myra said happily. “Now we can get started!”

She turned away as her phone began to ring inside her purse.

Richie let the fake smile he was sporting drop off of his face. Eddie/Cass also looked uncomfortable.

“Uh, I should…” Richie began.

“Wait, Dad, I can’t hear you,” Myra said into her phone. “I have to take this. Cass, hon, would you mind warming up with Richie?”

“Ah-” Eddie croaked out.

“Great, honey, thanks.” Myra scurried out of the room, phone plastered to her ear.

“Partner up,” Audra said from across the room, pointing between Richie and Eddie/Cass as the other couples paired up. “Let me see what we’re working with.”

She moved over to a stereo and pushed a button. A soft melody began playing through the speakers.

When neither Richie nor Eddie/Cass made a move, she walked over to them and gently pushed them together. “It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

Richie sighed and took Eddie/Cass's hand as the tempo picked up into a tango.

Audra smiled and went to observe the other couples, leaving Richie and Eddie/Cass ( _what the fuck even is his real name?_ Richie thought) alone.

Richie’s anger bubbled over. “You. _You._ You told me your name was Eddie!”

Eddie/Cass rolled his eyes. “It _is_ Eddie. My last name is Kaspbrak, so Myra calls me Cass as a nickname.”

“But Eddie’s already a nickname,” Richie pointed out.

“Yeah, I know,” Eddie said, but didn’t elaborate.

“Well I have another nickname for you. How about sleazy, lying, cheating--”

“Hey, if you’re thinking--”

“What I’m thinking involves a knee to the groin,” Richie said hotly.

Eddie sighed. “Look, when you had the accident yesterday --”

“And what a _special_ day that was--”

“--I was running late.”

Richie snorted. “How convenient.”

“I was on my way to meet Myra and our wedding planner, which turned out to be you! What are the odds?”

Richie bristled. “What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?”

Eddie flushed. “I _mean_ that Myra didn’t tell me anything about our wedding planner, so forgive me if I automatically assumed they’d be a woman.”

Richie snorted. “Huh. Figures.” He shook his head. “Don’t dance around the issue. You didn’t show up yesterday because you don’t want to get married. I see it all the time.”

“You see… what?” Eddie asked.

Richie spun Eddie out and back in. “Why’d you tell Myra you rescued an old lady?”

Eddie froze.

Richie smirked as they continued their dance. “Exactly. You _think_ you want to get married, but you don’t, for...various reasons.”

Eddie’s face looked stormy. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Richie raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, then why did you agree to go to the movie with me last night?”

“Why did I agree to go to the movies with you last night?” Eddie repeated. “Well let’s see, I like _Romeo + Juliet_. I had the night off. I thought it would be a good idea. I figured, a nice movie with some nice company would be… nice.”

“Why do you keep using the word, ‘nice’?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to double-talk your way out of this,” Richie said with a sneer. “You think you can throw me off your scent, but I know your type. I could tell the second I met you.”

“Oh really?” Eddie challenged. “Then why’d you ask me to dance?”

“I didn’t,” Richie protested weakly.

“Oh, you most certainly did. I know you didn’t forget.”

“Well even if I did I’m not the one who’s _engaged!_ ”

“It was a _movie_ and a _dance,_ it didn’t mean anything!”

“Then why did you almost kiss me?” 

Eddie froze, opening his mouth gaping like a fish.

“Excellent!” Audra’s voice interrupted. “This is how it’s done. Very nice job, Richie. And, uh…” Audra trailed off.

Eddie blushed. “Oh, uh, Eddie.”

“Nice job, Richie and Eddie.” Audra led the class in a round of applause.

"Cass! Richie!"

Richie startled and let go of Eddie and stepped back as Myra walked back up. 

She looked upset. "We need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Stafford Hotel absolutely does not exist in NYC (at least not according to my Google search), but even if it did I'm sure their canapés would be just fine.
> 
> Please note for future reference, I have changed Myra's nickname for Eddie from Frankie to Cass!

“I promise, it’s okay that the Stafford double-booked,” Richie assured Myra as Eddie looked on. “Trust me, you didn’t want your wedding there anyway.”

He leaned in conspiratorially. “I heard that they just got a D rating on The Knot because a bunch of guests at a wedding Friday night got sick from some bad canapés.”

“But now we don’t have a venue!” Myra bit her lip. “I don’t know what to do. All the good places are already booked!”

“Didn’t you tell me that you had an appointment to see the Carlyle?”

Myra sniffled. “Oh, wait, that’s right!” She turned to Eddie. “I need you to take off Friday.”

Eddie shook his head. “I can’t. I’m giving that guest lecture at NYU and won’t be done until late.”

“Ok, Saturday then.”

Eddie nodded. “Saturday. Ok, well, now that that’s settled, Richie it was nice to meet you, thank you for everything, take care now.” He turned to leave.

Myra grabbed his arm. “Wait, honey, what are you talking about? Richie’s coming with us on Saturday.”

“I am?” Richie asked.

“He is?” Eddie echoed.

“Well, yeah, of course. Richie’s our wedding planner, he needs to be there to help us decide.”

 _Shit,_ Richie thought. _What the hell am I going to do?_

* * *

_“Absolutely not,”_ Patty hissed at Richie as they passed the front desk and headed into Richie’s office. “You can’t quit this wedding!”

“I have to, Pats,” Richie replied. “I can’t do it. I have to go tell Steve.”

“What? No, no no no no no…” Patty shook her head. “There’s only one reason to quit a wedding and that’s if you break the cardinal rule.”

Richie winced.

Patty gasped. “Richard Wentworth Tozier, tell me you didn’t fall for the groom!”

“No, of course not! Never, just…” Richie sighed. “It’s the doctor.”

“The hot one that saved you? Where does he fit in in all this?” Her eyes widened. "Damn, Rich, did you fall for _two_ men?"

Richie shook his head. ”Guess who Myra Walker’s fiance’ is.”

Realization dawned on Patty's face. “Oh no…”

Richie flopped down in his chair. “The _doctor_ is the groom. The _groom_ is the doctor. The _doctor_ is Myra Walker’s fiance’!”

“Holy crap,” Patty said, then shook her head. “Okay, you know what? This is a good thing. You found out early what a sleaze he is, so now you can get over him and plan this wedding because _you_ are a _mother-forking professional_!”

Richie burst into giggles. “I love you so much, Pats. _Mother-forking professional_ …” He shook his head. “But you know what, you’re right. I _can_ do this.”

“Heck yeah you can! You haven’t been voted New York City’s top wedding planner 4 years in a row for nothing.”

Richie stood. “I’m not going to let some short, hot guy with big doe eyes and the dancing skills of Fred Astaire get in the way of everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve. I deserve this partnership, damnit, and I’m going to make this the best damn wedding anyone has ever seen!”

“That’s right!” Patty encouraged. “Screw him!” 

“Yeah, screw him.” Richie reached for his wedding binder. “Let’s plan this mother-forking wedding.”

Little did he know, Eddie was across town having a very similar conversation…

* * *

Bill snorted into his coffee cup. “So wait, let me get this straight. The dumpster guy is your wedding planner?”

“Yep, he sure is,” Eddie replied, looking around the hospital’s small coffee shop. “And I apparently pissed someone off in a past life and am now in Hell.”

“This is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.” Bill grinned. “And hey, if he’s as hot as you say he is you can fix me up with him.”

“Oh no fucking way.” Eddie shook his head emphatically. “This is complicated enough.”

“So wait a minute, are you thinking it’s a mistake to marry Myra?”

“Of course not, I mean, Myra’s nice and all, she’s great, it’s just…” Eddie sighed. “Myra’s the only person I ever dated and I only proposed to her because I promised my mother on her deathbed that I would marry her. I just… what if I’m passing up on the great love of my life just to fulfill that promise?”

Bill shook his head. “I’m a brain surgeon, Eddie, not a psychiatrist. But for what it’s worth I had my gay panic back in high school and have firmly embraced my sexuality. You, on the other hand… what if this is just that? You’ve never dated a guy and aren't exactly sure if you’re even actually _interested_ in guys or not so you just want to find out before you settle down. It’s not chemistry, it’s anxiety, and lord knows you have enough of that.”

Eddie nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “You’re right. It’s not chemistry, it’s anxiety. That’s all it is. It was just an experiment. My feelings for Myra will grow, right? It’s not like I could fall for someone over just a dance. What was I thinking?”

He stood. “Thanks, Bill.”

“So you’re going to give me his number, right?” Bill asked with a gleam in his eye.

“Not a chance in hell,” Eddie replied with a grin before leaving, leaving a laughing Bill in his wake.


	6. Chapter 6

Richie stood back as Myra and Eddie looked at the Carlyle’s ballroom.

Myra sighed and turned to Richie. “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” Richie replied. “Mariah, give us a minute?”

“Of course, Richie, take your time,” the event coordinator said, walking across the room to give them some privacy.

“So, what do you think?” Richie asked. “Beautiful, right?”

Myra bit her lip. “Yes, but now I’m actually thinking that I’d rather an outdoor wedding,” she said.

Richie nodded. He always had built-in contingency plans in case a bride (or groom) changed their mind on indoors vs outdoors, but he hoped Myra settled on a venue quickly since the wedding was now two months away and their choices were becoming very limited. “Okay, that’s fine.”

“But Myra, honey, what about my allergies?” Eddie argued.

“It’ll be okay, you can just take a couple of allergy pills, can’t you, Cass?” Myra smiled. “For me?”

Eddie looked like he wanted to argue further, but instead he sighed. “Yeah, ok.”

Richie nodded. “Okay, there’s this vineyard a couple of hours outside of the city that we can check out. Let me give them a call so they know to expect us.”

He walked back over to Mariah. “Hey, so they’re going to think it over and I’ll get back with you in a bit, ok?” he said.

“Okay, let me know soon though because I have another couple coming in at 2 o’clock.”

Richie nodded. “Will do.” 

He guided Myra and Eddie back out into the lobby and out the door, then pulled out his phone. “Hey, Mark, It’s Richie Tozier. Yeah, I was wondering if you’re in today. I’m going to bring that couple in from the city to look at the location -- yeah, noon is perfect. Ok, great. Thanks. See you then. Bye.”

He hung up. “Ok, we have an appointment at noon. I’ll go get my car and meet you there --”

“Why don’t you just ride with us?” Myra interrupted. “That way we can discuss more details on the way.”

Richie glanced over at Eddie, whose face was carefully blank. “Oh, uh, yeah, okay.”

He followed them to Eddie’s Escalade and climbed in the back seat before giving Eddie the address to input into the GPS on his phone. He then texted Patty. _Carlyle was a bust. Myra decided she wants an outdoor wedding so I’m taking them to see the Santa Maria Vineyard. I’m riding with them, so pray for me, lol._

 _You got this,_ was Patty’s response.

They had just gotten out of the city when Myra turned to Richie. “Oh, I just remembered, I thought we had just about everything covered but then I realized Cass and I haven’t picked a song for our first dance, so I found this playlist with a bunch of songs on it. Maybe we’ll find one.”

She connected her phone to the Escalade’s Bluetooth and hit play. _I Honestly Love You_ by Olivia Newton-John filtered out over the speakers. 

Myra shook her head and skipped to the next song… then the next… then the next. She sighed. “None of these sound right,” she complained. “I want something more modern.”

“How about _Thinking Out Loud_ ? Or _Perfect_ ? _,_ ” Eddie said. “I think one of those would be a good first dance.”

Richie privately agreed with him, but said nothing.

Myra wrinkled her nose. “No, I think I’d rather something a bit more up-tempo,”

Eddie glanced over at her. “How about _White Wedding_ then?” he said with a grin. “ _Love Stinks_?” 

Myra scowled. “Cass, if you can’t take this seriously…”

“Hey, I have a list of good first dance songs back at my office,” Richie chimed in in order to diffuse the tension. “I’ll send it to you on Monday.”

“Oh, thank you so much.” Myra gave Eddie a glare before turning back to Richie. “Oh, Richie, I’ve been meaning to ask you, whatever happened to that guy you met? You know, the one you danced with--”

Richie startled as the car suddenly veered sharply to the right.

“Woah!” Eddie shouted as he corrected. “Damn, did you see that? Ran right out in front of us.” 

Richie caught his eye in the rearview mirror and raised an eyebrow. “Actually, it didn’t work out.”

“Aww, honey, I’m so sorry,” Myra said sympathetically. “What happened? You looked so happy. I thought for sure you’d found Mr. Right.”

Richie shrugged. “So did I. But it turned out that he was the fiance’ of one of my clients.”

Myra looked horrified. “Ugh, what a jerk.”

Richie nodded. “Yeah. Total creep.”

“Well don’t worry, sweetie,” Myra soothed. “You’ll find someone, just like I found Cass here.” She patted Eddie’s arm.

“Yeah, you’re a lucky girl,” Richie said with false enthusiasm.

He spent the rest of the drive pretending to do some work-related things on his phone, and soon they had arrived. 

Richie led them to the main building where they met up with the owner. “Myra, Eddie, this is Mark Butterman. Mark, this is Myra Walker and Eddie Kaspbrak.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mark said. “Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thank you,” Myra replied warmly. Eddie said nothing.

Richie chose to ignore Eddie’s silence and push on. _Partnership. I’m doing this for a partnership._ “Anyway, shall we?” 

Richie and Mark took the couple around the vineyard, first taking them inside to see the rooms where they would be able to get ready, then out to where the reception would be held.

“And this is where the actual ceremony would take place.” Richie pointed to an area to their right.

Suddenly he heard a voice calling out to him. “Richie!”

He turned to see Stan, Patty’s husband, walking up to them. “Stan? Is everything okay?”

Stan wrapped Richie in a hug. “Just go with it,” he whispered in Richie’s ear before letting him go. “Of course, honey, I was up meeting with a client nearby and thought we could grab lunch since you were up here too.” He pretended to just notice Myra and Eddie. “Oh, excuse me, how rude. I’m Stanley, Richie’s fiance’.”

“What?” Myra said in surprise at the same time Eddie spluttered “his _fiance’?_ ”

 _What the fuck is happening?_ Richie thought.

Eddie seemed to have straightened in order to make himself taller, even though he still was an inch or so shorter than Stan. He held out his hand. “I’m Eddie.”

“And I’m Myra,” Myra added.

“Will you excuse us just a second?” Richie interrupted. He dragged Stan off out of earshot. 

“Stanley, what the fuck are you doing?” he shout-whispered.

“Patty told me that you’d be here with the dude you were all mopey over at game night on Monday, so I’m here to help,” Stan replied.

“Ok, first off, I was _not_ mopey,” Richie protested.

Stan gave him a look. 

“Ok, yeah, maybe I was,” Richie amended. “But your idea of helping is to pretend to be my _fiance’_?”

Stan shrugged. “Why not? That way it’s plausible for me to hang around, and I don’t have to take my wedding ring off.”

Richie shook his head fondly. “You are insane, but thanks, man.”

They walked back over to Eddie and Myra. “Sorry about that,” Richie said. 

Stan looped an arm through Richie’s, the sunlight glinting off of his wedding ring. “Richie’s always so busy with clients, we have to take the time to be together when we can.”

“So, Stanley, how did you and Richie meet?” Myra asked. 

Richie noticed Eddie’s jaw tense. “Yeah, he never mentioned he was engaged.”

“Oh it was the most adorable story,” Stan replied. “I’m an accountant, you see, and I was doing some outside bookkeeping for Richie’s company, and one day I’m at his office delivering an expense account report to Steve when all of a sudden I round a corner and run right into this tall, handsome fellow here. Made my papers fly all over the place. Was worth it though when I asked him out to dinner after we picked them all up.”

Richie smiled. That actually was how Stan and Patty had met. Richie had been out of the office with a client that day and had met Stan later, after Patty had been comfortable enough to invite him to game night.

“That’s so romantic,” Myra sighed.

“Eddie, would you like to join me for a drink? I’m sure Richie and Myra can handle the rest of the tour, right babe?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know --” Richie stammered, trying to figure out what the hell Stan was up to.

“Oh it’ll be fine, right, Myra honey?” Eddie interrupted. “You and Richie can finish the tour then join us.”

”Yeah, okay,” Myra shrugged.

Richie watched as Stan led Eddie off to the vineyard’s wine tasting area then turned back to Myra. “Well, shall we?”

* * *

Richie had no idea what to expect when he and Myra joined Stan and Eddie 30 minutes later, but it certainly wasn’t Stan looking smug and Eddie looking like he wanted to rip Stan’s face off.

“Uh, have a nice chat?” Richie said carefully.

“Wonderful,” Stan said brightly.

Eddie scowled.

Stan stood. “Well, I must be going. I have some more clients to meet with this afternoon. Richie, honey, I’ll see you later?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Richie replied.

“Myra, lovely to meet you,” Stan added. “Eddie.”

“He seems lovely,” Myra remarked as Stan walked away. “You’re very lucky.”

Richie grinned. “What can I say? He’s my best friend.”

He swirled the pinot gris in his wine glass. “So what do you think of this place? Think you two could find yourselves getting married here?” 

“I don’t know,” Myra said wistfully. “I don’t think this is it.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Eddie asked. “I think it’s fine.”

“I was hoping for somewhere a little more… exclusive.” Myra bit her lip. “They were talking about the hundreds of couples that have been married here and I just thought that I want to be different, not to get married at the same places as everyone else. And maybe somewhere with a fountain?”

Eddie sighed. “Ok, whatever you want.”

Richie nodded. “Give me one minute.”

He placed a quick phone call. “Ok,” he said once he hung up, “I think I’ve got just the perfect place. Myra, can your parents meet us there?”

Myra nodded. “I’m sure they can.” 

“Great. Then let’s get going.”

Richie stopped by Mark’s office on the way out. “Mark, thank you so much for the tour, but it’s not quite what my clients are looking for,” Richie said apologetically.

“Quite alright,” Mark replied cheerfully. “You’ll at least consider us for your own wedding though, right?”

Richie let out a weak chuckle. “Ok, well, it was great seeing you, take care now, bye!”

He hurried back to where Eddie and Myra were waiting for him. “Ok, so this next venue is about 30 minutes outside of the city, so it’s still fairly easy for your out-of-town guests to get to.”

He gave Eddie the address for the GPS and sat back in his seat. 

Luckily, Myra was distracted by a call from work, so she didn’t press Richie for more details about Stan or their “relationship.” Richie used the silence to stare out the window and wonder just how his life had gotten so complicated, missing the furtive glances Eddie kept giving him in the rearview mirror.

Thankfully, traffic heading back towards the city was light and they made it to the venue without incident… or further conversation.

They greeted Myra's parents in the parking lot and Richie guided them towards the entrance, where they met up with a youngish, short, dark-haired woman. "Welcome to Somerset Lake," she greeted. "I'm Skyler."

She led them around, pausing in front of a large fountain. "Here's where the ceremony would take place. As you can see, there's plenty of seating for your guests, and if you'll walk with me this way…" 

She paused on a bridge crossing the lake as they headed towards a large gazebo. "As a special treat for our happy couples, on the way from the ceremony location to the reception area we're providing each couple with the opportunity to stop here and carve their names or initials into the bridge railing, sealing their marriage bond into something tangible."

"Since this place just finished renovations, you'd be the first couple to be married here," Richie clarified. 

"This is beautiful," Mrs. Walker breathed. "And what a creative idea!"

Myra nodded.

"Since the ceremony is at sunset we'd use rope lights to mark the pathway from there to the reception area," Richie added. "So, what do you think?"

"It's perfect--" Myra said.

"We should keep looking--" Eddie said at the same time.

"What?" Myra turned to Eddie. "No, honey, this is exactly what I'm looking for in a venue. Don't you agree?"

Eddie looked over at Myra's parents, who were watching him expectantly, then at Richie, who looked down at his feet. "Yeah, of course, honey. You're absolutely right. This is perfect."

Myra squealed with happiness. "We'll book it."

"Wonderful," Skyler said. "Now, if you'll head to my office with me, we'll sign the paperwork."

* * *

Once the paperwork was signed and the deposit check collected, they thanked Skyler and walked back towards the parking lot.

“Oh, I’m so glad we found a venue today. At least you two won’t have to worry about that when I go out of town next week.”

“Wait, what?” Richie said in surprise. 

Myra nodded. “Yeah, we’re looking at investing in another start-up so I’m going to be out of town for the next six weeks. I thought I told you.”

Richie shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”

“Oh, sorry. It’s just that this trip is important and I really can’t cancel it. I’m sure you two can handle everything else -- it’s just flowers and the cake and catering and stuff, right? I’m sure you know the best of everything, Richie.”

Richie gave a tight smile. “Of course.”

“Then that’s settled. Cass, honey, I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

Myra gave Eddie a brief kiss on the cheek and walked away.

 _Crap,_ Richie thought. He wanted to go bash his head against a tree, but instead climbed into the passenger seat of Eddie’s Escalade and wordlessly put on his seatbelt.

_How the hell am I going to get through the next six weeks?_


	7. Chapter 7

The first ten minutes of the thirty-minute drive back into the city were some of the most tense of Richie's life. He could feel Eddie watching him.

"So, uh, looks like we're planning the rest of the wedding together, huh?" Eddie said.

"Mmm," Richie replied non-committally, not bothering to turn to look at Eddie.

"I think Myra already has her dress but I'll have to make an appointment for a tux fitting."

"Mmm."

"I suppose you’ll help me with that?"

"Mmm."

"Ok, that's it." Eddie jerked the car over to the shoulder and cut the engine.

Richie finally turned towards Eddie. "Dude, what the fuck?"

Eddie turned towards him. "We're gonna hash this out once and for all." His eyes narrowed. “So let’s review, shall we? You blasted me for being engaged, when you yourself are  _ also _ engaged. And  _ you _ have the nerve to call  _ me _ out? What the fuck gives  _ you _ the right?”

“What gives me the right?” Richie repeated incredulously. “What gives  _ me _ the right? Listen here, buddy. I’ve been doing this a long time. So long, in fact, that I can tell just how long a couple is going to be married. Did you know that Myra chose beige for her bridesmaids dresses? Beige! The most boring color on the planet! And not only that, she chose an outdoor venue  _ knowing _ that you have allergies,  _ knowing _ that pollen is worse during the summer months,  _ and _ knowing that her future husband is going to be reciting his vows half stoned on allergy medication! And you just let her! It’s like you’re so scared to make a decision that will actually benefit  _ you _ that you’re just agreeing to all of her choices. I mean, did you even  _ actually  _ propose or did you just let her decide that for you too? The fact that you almost kissed me that night at the movie pretty much tells me the answer.” He held up a finger. “And don’t even deny it.”

Eddie crossed his arms. “You want the truth? Okay, here’s the truth. When I was a teenager I met this boy while I was on vacation with my mom, and the more we hung out the more I fell for him, which scared the absolute  _ shit _ out of me because I grew up in a small town full of narrow-minded people -- including my mother -- and I was terrified to ever even  _ think _ about exploring my sexuality, so when my vacation ended I just left without even saying goodbye to him or attempting to keep in touch. And now I’m getting married to a woman just like I’m supposed to -- the only woman I've ever dated, in fact. But when I saw you I just… there was something about you that reminded me of him.”

Richie blinked.  _ Holy shit. It can’t be.  _ He opened his mouth, then closed it.

Eddie apparently took that as a sign to continue. “So yes, that night at the movies I  _ was _ attracted to you. I mean… just look at you.” He waved a hand at Richie. “Bottom line is, though, that  _ nothing happened _ . Bottom line is...” He sighed and shook his head sadly. “I never thought I’d see you again.” 

Richie’s heart broke for Eddie. He himself was lucky enough to have parents who loved him and had made him feel comfortable enough to come out at sixteen without the fear of being disowned, so he couldn’t imagine going through life thinking that he was  _ wrong _ or  _ dirty _ for loving who he loved and having to bury such an integral part of himself for so long. 

Finally he said quietly, “If you give me your work schedule for the next few weeks I can make all the appointments around it.”

Eddie looked surprised that Richie hadn’t argued. “Thank you.”

Richie just shrugged. “Look, it’s not my place to judge. Let’s just get through the next six weeks then we really  _ can _ never see each other again.”

“Okay.” Eddie restarted the car and pulled back out onto the road.

Richie subtly glanced over at Eddie as they rode back into the city. He could see the similarities now -- the dark brown hair that barely curled at the ends, the warm brown eyes, the mannerisms…

_ Holy fucking shit, it's really Eddie Spaghetti _ .

For months Richie had thought about the boy he had met in the arcade, then finally gave up wondering why he had left without even saying goodbye. He guessed he had finally gotten his answer.

He sighed. "Um, we need to schedule your tux fitting and appointments to choose the catering and the cake, and we need to pick out flowers. I'll handle the decorations unless you or Myra have anything specific you'd like to include."

Eddie shook his head. "Myra seemed pretty happy with what you had come up with."

“Ok then.”

Eddie came to a stop in front of Richie’s apartment building. “Ok, so uh… I’ll text you tomorrow?”

Richie nodded. “Yeah, just let me know your availability for the next few weeks.”

“Ok. See you later then.”

“Bye.”

Richie watched as Eddie drove off, then sighed and headed up to his apartment.  _ See ya, Eddie Spaghetti. _


	8. Chapter 8

"So Myra decided she wants _statues_ at the wedding?" Eddie repeated as he and Richie walked through a local statuary three weeks later. 

Richie shrugged. "A well-placed statue can enhance the tone of a ceremony." He gestured to a statue of a man holding a water jug on one shoulder, his face turned up to the sky. "Something like this can be nice."

Eddie studied the statue. "Maybe we can get one to stand in for me," he muttered.

Richie glanced over at Eddie, but pretended that he hadn't heard him. _Not getting involved, not getting involved, not getting involved,_ he repeated to himself.

Eddie cleared his throat. "I always pictured a small wedding -- you know, just close friends and family, maybe on a beach somewhere in the fall. But Myra insisted on this…" He waved a hand. "Circus."

Richie winced. "You know, there was an Aphrodite statue we passed on the way in that would be nice," he said hesitantly.

Eddie stopped in front of a statue of a naked warrior, sword poised to strike. "Hey, what about this one?" he said.

Richie wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, this one is all wrong for a wedding. Too menacing."

"Nah, he's not menacing," Eddie posed by the statue. "He's strong, protective."

"Naked."

Eddie straightened and leaned up against the statue. "Well--"

Richie watched in horror as the statue tilted precariously, then fell to the ground. "Oh shit. Quick, help me pick this up."

He and Eddie each grabbed the statue and managed to haul it upright right before a security guard turned in their direction.

Richie's jaw dropped as he spotted the statue's nether regions still laying in the grass. "Oh my God, you castrated him!" he hissed.

"Shit, the guard's coming over here," Eddie whispered, picking up the broken piece of statue. 

"Quick, help me fix this," Richie added, digging around in his messenger bag for some Krazy Glue.

He frantically swiped some glue onto the piece and waited while Eddie affixed it back to the statue. 

"Oh shit," Eddie hissed. "My hand's stuck."

"What?"

"My hand is stuck to this guy's dick."

Richie probably would've burst out into laughter had the security guard not walked up to them at that very moment. "How you folks doing?" he asked.

"Great, good," Richie replied, hiding Eddie's hand from view.

"You know what, Rich, you're right. this _is_ marble and not granite. You definitely know your stone," Eddie said, giving the statue a pat with his free hand. 

The guard looked at him strangely. "Have a nice day."

Richie breathed a sigh of relief as the guard kept walking.

Eddie removed his hand from the statue, the broken piece still stuck to his hand. "You'd think it'd be bigger," he remarked dryly.

Richie snorted. "Come on, let's get this off of you."

He led Eddie over to a secluded bench where he pulled out a bottle of nail polish remover and a q-tip. 

Eddie watched in fascination. "You have everything in that bag, don't you?"

Richie shrugged. "A good wedding planner is always prepared for every possible scenario."

He focused on getting the cap of the nail polish remover off. "I'm sorry--" he began.

"I'm sorry about--" Eddie said at the same time.

Richie concentrated on pouring some nail polish remover in the cap and dipping the q-tip into it. "You can go first."

Eddie sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to unload on you, I just…" he trailed off.

"I'm sorry too," Richie replied. 

Eddie shrugged as Richie gently took his hand and began to dissolve the Krazy Glue. "I shouldn't have made you feel like you were just some sexuality experiment. That wasn't fair."

"And I probably shouldn't have insinuated that your marriage was doomed to fail."

"Well statistically speaking there's at least a 50/50 chance, right?" Eddie grinned.

Richie bit his lip. "I think you and Myra will be very happy together."

Eddie looked away. "And so will you and Stan."

Richie winced. "Uh, actually, Stan and I aren't together... anymore."

Eddie looked back at him in surprise. "Oh, really?" 

"Yeah, uh, it wasn't working out." _Especially since he's straight and already married._

"Are you okay?"

Richie's heart clenched. "Yeah, yeah. I uh, I'll be fine eventually."

They sat in silence for a moment. Finally Eddie said, "Oh, I uh, I talked to Myra and she said she's fine with the raspberry-almond filling for the, uh--"

"--For the cake, yeah. Ok, I'll call Mike first thing in the morning and put the order in."

He and Eddie had done the cake tasting the previous day. Richie had met Eddie bright and early at Hanlon's Bakery, where the owner, Mike, had treated them to sample after sample of increasingly delicious cakes. Both Richie and Eddie had favored a red velvet cake with a caramel-fudge filling, but Eddie had ultimately chosen a vanilla cake with a raspberry-almond filling, citing Myra's preferences.

Richie cleared his throat. "How is Myra, by the way? Is she enjoying Montreal?"

"Yeah, uh, yeah. She's… kicking ass and taking names, as usual." 

Suddenly the statue piece came loose. "Aha!" Richie said triumphantly, holding it up.

Eddie flexed his hand. "Nice work! Thanks."

Richie dropped the piece back in Eddie's palm. "No problem."

Eddie handed it back to Richie. "Here, why don't you keep it."

Richie smirked. "Sure, why not? Probably'll be the most dick I get for the foreseeable future."

A laugh burst out of Eddie. 

Richie smiled softly. "I uh, I agree with you about the small wedding," he admitted. "That's the way I'd do it too."

"Really?" Eddie looked surprised.

"Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely _love_ planning these big, lavish weddings for my clients, but I dunno, I've always preferred something small and intimate, you know, just me and the man I'm marrying with a few close friends as witnesses…" Richie shrugged. "I just feel like it would be more personal rather than have hundreds of people I barely even know."

He began packing the q-tips and nail polish remover, missing the soft look that Eddie was currently giving him. 

Eddie cleared his throat. "Today was pretty great, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it was," Richie agreed. "I gotta run, but I'll see you tomorrow for the tux fitting and to choose the flowers?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

Richie stood. "Ok, then I'll see you."

"Bye, Richie."

Richie smiled. "Bye, Eddie."


	9. Chapter 9

"Ah, there you are," Richie said as Eddie came walking up to him outside It Suits You.

"Sorry I'm late," Eddie said. "I got stuck in traffic because of an accident, then my Uber driver decided it'd be fun to try to reroute us through a construction area, so it wound up being faster just to walk here."

Richie shrugged "It's fine." He gestured towards the door. "Shall we?"

The chime above the door sounded as Richie opened it and gestured for Eddie to go ahead of him. 

"Be with you in a second!" a voice called out from the back of the shop.

"Let's have a look around while we wait," Richie suggested.

Eddie walked over to a mannequin wearing a dark blue suit with a textured white shirt and black tie. "Wow, this is beautiful."

"Thank you," a voice said from behind them.

Richie turned, a huge smile on his face. "Hey there, Bev."

He gave her a hug before turning back toward Eddie. "Eddie, this is Beverly Marsh, the owner of It Suits You. Bev, this is Eddie Kaspbrak, one of my clients. He's in need of a tuxedo for his wedding."

Beverly nodded, studying Eddie. "Ok, right this way."

"Everything in the store has been custom-designed by Beverly herself," Richie said. "I've been buying suits here for years."

"Which is why you're always the best-dressed at any wedding," Beverly grinned.

Richie shrugged. "What can I say? I know quality -- I'd never send a client anywhere I wouldn't go myself."

Beverly led them over to a stand in front of a mirror. "Now, let me get your measurements and I'll start pulling pieces for you."

Richie watched as Beverly grabbed her measuring tape and a notepad.

Beverly took Eddie's shoulder, chest, and arm lengths before kneeling down to get Eddie's leg and inseam measurements. "Ok, so what colors are you and your fiancee' going with for your wedding?" Beverly asked. "You can easily go with a different tie or cumberbund to add a pop of color and to match the bridesmaids dresses."

"Oh, uh, beige," Eddie answered, looking up at the ceiling.

Beverly glanced at Richie in the mirror.  _ Beige? _ she mouthed.

Richie shrugged.  _ Don't ask, _ he mouthed back.

"Ok, well…" Beverly stood. "Give me just a moment to pull some pieces."

She disappeared into the back, returning a few minutes later with a shirt, pants, and tuxedo jacket. 

She handed them to Eddie. "Here, try these on."

Richie watched as Eddie headed to the dressing rooms. As soon as he was out of earshot, Bev turned to him. "So,  _ that's _ Eddie?" she whispered. "Damn, maybe I should get stuck in a sewer grate so I can be rescued by a hot doctor too."

Richie huffed out a laugh. "Oh yes, that was my master plan the whole time."

"So… How was the cake tasting at Mike's yesterday?" Bev asked. 

Richie narrowed his eyes. He loved his friends, but they were all notorious gossips. "It was… fine."

"Oh really? Mike said you two looked awfully cozy and that at one point he fully expected to walk in from getting some more cake samples to find you two making out."

"What? That's ridiculous."

"So at no point did Eddie use his thumb to wipe some icing off of your bottom lip?"

Richie flushed. It had taken every ounce of his willpower not to fling the piece of cake he had been holding and pull Eddie into a kiss. "He was just helping me out!"

Beverly just shook her head as the door to the dressing rooms opened. 

Eddie stood before them in a black fitted tux, complete with bow tie. "How do I look?"

Richie's mouth went dry. "Uh."

"Great," Beverly replied, giving Richie an amused look. "It doesn't look like you'll need many alterations at all, maybe just take the sleeves up a bit." She tugged on the jacket a bit and turned to Richie. "Rich, would you go get my pins from the counter?"

"Huh--What?"

He blushed as Beverly bit her lip, obviously to keep from laughing. "My pins? They're on the front counter."

"Oh, uh, yeah." Richie hurried over to the counter and grabbed Bev's pincushion, taking a deep breath and mentally shaking his head before heading back over to Bev and Eddie.

Beverly quickly got Eddie's jacket pinned for alteration. "Ok, you're all set."

Richie followed Bev up to the register while Eddie went to change back into his regular clothes.

"I see why you like him," Bev said as she rang up Eddie's purchases. "He's cute."

Richie rolled his eyes. "And also getting married in a month -- to a woman, lest you forget."

Bev shrugged. "He doesn't  _ have _ to be."

Richie shook his head. "My job is to plan weddings, not get involved in people's relationships."

Bev raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

Richie sighed. "It's not the same type of situation, Bev. I talked you out of marrying Tom because he was a controlling, abusive piece of shit and I respected you too much to let you go through with it. Myra's a perfectly lovely woman and I can't let my feelings for Eddie get in the way of that."

Beverly shook her head. "Just remember that you deserve to be happy too."

"Yeah, yeah." He glanced over at the blue suit. "Hey, uh, is that suit over there new?"

Beverly smiled. "As a matter of fact, it is, and it also happens to come in your exact size since I designed that one with you in mind. I'll pull it for you so you can come try it on later."

"Bev, you're a peach."

Their conversation died down as Eddie came back to pay for his things.

"Okay, so we can schedule your final fitting for… two weeks out?" Bev said, consulting the appointment book next to the register. "That way if anything else needs altering we'll still have time before the wedding."

"Yeah, sounds good," Eddie agreed.

"Thanks, Bev," Richie said. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Rich. Eddie, lovely to meet you."

"You too."

Eddie fiddled with his bag as they left the store. "Ok so next on the list is… flowers?"

Richie nodded. "Yeah, but I figured we could stop for lunch first. I know you get hangry when you don't get fed properly."

Eddie's brow furrowed. "Fuck you, I do not get  _ hangry _ ."

Richie raised a playful eyebrow. 

Eddie blinked. "Yeah, ok, I see what you mean."

"You like Italian?"

"Yeah, love it."

"Then I know just the place."

Eddie smiled. "Lead the way."


	10. Chapter 10

After lunch, Richie and Eddie headed out to an open-air flower shop. "Ok, so I thought we'd start with orchids and just build from there, so just let me know if you see anything that just jumps out at you."

"Oh, uh, ok," Eddie replied. "Well, how about… these?"

Richie bit his lip as Eddie pointed to some snapdragons. "Ah. Interesting."   


Eddie looked over at him. "What?"

"Well these are snapdragons, which while beautiful, symbolize deceit."

"Well, then all we need are some 'doomed-from-the-start daisies', then we'll be good to go."

Richie laughed as they moved on.  _ Damn, he's really funny. _ "So how did you two meet?" he asked.

"Me and Myra?" Eddie replied. "College."

"Oh, she was in one of your classes?"

"No, actually, she was my roommate's girlfriend's sorority sister."

"Myra was in a sorority?"

"Yeah, yeah. She was. She uh, she asked me to coffee one day and the rest is history." He paused at a pot of cream-colored flowers. "Ranunculus?"

Richie nodded. "Yeah, those are a good choice."

He looked over to his left and froze.  _ Oh shit. _

Standing not twenty feet away from them was Richie's ex-fiance', Connor.

Richie darted behind Eddie.

"What about--" Eddie turned around. "Richie, what are you doing?"

"Don't say my name, just hide me!" Richie hissed.

"Dude you're like half a foot taller than me, it's kind of hard--"

"Oh, never mind!" Richie ran to the next aisle and ducked next to a table of anenomes.

He peeked around the corner and--

"Richie?"

\--Spotted Connor looking down at him.

Richie reached out and plucked a stem of baby's breath from the nearest bucket and stood. "Hi."

Eddie walked over. "Rich, you okay?"

"Yeah, uh, found it. See? Baby's breath would be perfect." He waved the stem around awkwardly.

"Uh huh." Eddie glanced at him before extending a hand out to Connor. "Hi, how you doing? I'm Eddie Kaspbrak."

"Connor Bowers," Connor replied. "And this is my husband, Bobby."

"Nice to meet you," Bobby added.

"So, how do you all know each other?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, uh, it's a long story--" Connor started.

"We go way back--" Bobby said at the same time.

"Oh, let me tell it," Richie cut in. "It really is quite the tale. You see, Connor here was my fiance', and Bobby was his high school boyfriend. And on the night of our rehearsal dinner, I caught them making out. In  _ my  _ car."

He smiled sweetly at Connor and Bobby, "Did I leave anything important out?"

"Oh, well, would you look at the time," Connor said awkwardly. "Bobby, hon, we really must be going. We have that thing with Henry tonight. Eddie, so nice to meet you, bye!"

Richie watched with satisfaction as Connor hauled Bobby off.

"Oof," Eddie said. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. You didn't know."

"Still."

Richie sighed. "Let's just… finish up here, ok?"

"Alright."

They picked a few more flower types, Richie making notes in order to place the final order.

He sighed once they were done. "I'll see you later, ok Eds?"

"Hey, uh, how about we go get a drink?" Eddie asked. "You look like you need one."

Richie thought a minute. "You know what, yeah. That sounds good."

"Okay," Eddie nodded. "I know this little bar that's not far from the hospital. My friend and I go there every now and then if our shifts line up. It's quiet and usually not too crowded."

"Sounds perfect, Eds," Richie said. "Let's go."

* * *

"Can't believe I almost married him," Richie slurred four hours later as their rideshare pulled up to his apartment. "Stupid Connor with his stupid hair, and his stupid eyes, and his stupid… stupid eyebrows." He hiccuped.

Eddie huffed out a laugh as he helped Richie out of the car. "Okay, Romeo, let's get you inside."

Richie leaned towards Eddie.  _ God, he always smells so good. _

Eddie steadied him as he lost his balance. "Woah, hey, easy now. Here, you stand right over here for me, ok? Where are your keys?"

Richie patted at his pants pockets. "Pocket."

Eddie shook his head fondly. "I'm going to reach in your pocket and get them, ok?"

"Buy a guy dinner first, why don'tcha?" Richie giggled at his own joke. His head was pleasantly swimmy.

"Dinner probably would've been a good idea," Eddie agreed.

Richie closed his eyes as one of Eddie's hands grazed his hip, while the other reached into his pocket to grab his keys.

"Ok, let's see…" Eddie began trying each key in the outer door of the apartment building.

"Maybe I'm home and can buzz us in." Richie stumbled over to the buzzer box. "Mary Sumner… Lawrence Frederick… Martha Stewart… Martha Stewart?" He squinted at the list of names. "Wait, no, that says Martha Studabaker. I didn't think Martha Stewart lived here." He pressed a random button. 

"Yes, may I help you?" A voice came from the speaker. 

"Martha Studabaker? 4-A?"

"Yes?"

"Hi, yes, Martha," Eddie said. "Could you buzz us in, please?"

"Who is this?"

"It's Richie Tozier, 6-C." 

"Who?"

"You don't actually know me," Richie said sadly. "I don't think anyone in the building actually knows who I am. I'm always working and never participate in the mixers up on the roof because I have no social life outside of my small group of friends, who I only met because they started out as business acquaintances. My own fiance' didn't even love me enough to marry me because I'm just... I'm just a big loser." He let out a broken sob and slumped down to the concrete. "I wanna go home."

"You are home, Richie," Eddie said, crouching next to Richie and cupping Richie's face in his hands. "See? We're outside your apartment building right now."

Richie sniffled. "Connor's married. And happy.  _ And _ he looked good."

Eddie shook his head. "No, no he didn't look good at all."

"Yes he did. He's happily married to  _ Bobby _ and I'm just a big, frumpy cat lady minus the cats and lady parts."

Eddie's brow did that cute furrowy thing that made Richie's stomach flutter... or maybe that was the six shots of tequila and three beers he had downed at the bar. "Hey, you are  _ anything  _ but frumpy."

Suddenly the front door to the apartment building opened.

"Hey, how are ya?" Eddie said to the man leaving the building. "Can you hold that for us?"

In a surprising show of strength, he hoisted Richie to his feet. "Come on, let's get you inside."

They made their way up to Richie's apartment and Eddie guided Richie to lie down on his sofa. "You lay here for a minute and I'll be right back."

A few minutes later Eddie was pressing a warm mug and two Tylenol into Richie's hands. "Here, I made you some herbal tea. Hope you didn't mind me rooting around your kitchen."

Richie accepted the cup gratefully. "Thanks." He sat up a bit and took the medication with a sip of tea as Eddie set another mug and a plate of cheese and crackers down on the end table before settling on the floor in front of the sofa. "So you really didn't think Connor looked good?"

Eddie shook his head. "No, of course not. Did you see him? He looked old, and miserable, and… and balding. And his husband looks like he performs as a clown in a circus on the weekends."

Richie snickered. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

He shook his head. "He said they were just friends. I can't believe I was so stupid as to believe him. I was just a placeholder while he was waiting for Bobby to break up with his current boyfriend. I think he just proposed in order to make Bobby jealous."

He turned to Eddie. "You know Bobby helped plan our wedding shower? He took the time to personally muddle mint leaves for the mojitos. I should've known right then. He was trying too hard."

He wiped his eyes. "You know, some days I think it's a good thing I didn't marry Connor and that I saved myself a lot of heartache, but most days... most days I think that maybe I just wasn't good enough for him."

"No…" Eddie protested softly. "No, no, you're wrong. It's the opposite.  _ He's _ the one who wasn't good enough for  _ you _ ." He carefully took a sip of his own tea. "You know, I also meant it when I said you were anything but frumpy. You're actually a very attractive man."

Richie sniffled. "You really think so?"

Eddie reached out and brushed a loose curl out of Richie's face. "Yeah," he said seriously, holding Richie's gaze. "Any guy would be damn lucky to have you."

"Thank you, Eddie," Richie whispered.

Eddie sighed and sat back. "It's getting late."

"Yeah," Richie agreed.

"I should get going."

Richie sat up. "Here, I'll walk you to the door."

"No, it's okay."

"No, I'm fine, I got it."

Richie carefully made his way upright and walked Eddie towards the door. "Thanks for taking care of me. I was kind of a mess."

"No, you weren't a  _ mess _ , per say." Eddie paused. "Ok, maybe a little bit."

Richie chuckled.

Eddie opened the door. "You gonna be okay?"

Richie nodded. "Yeah, I will be."

"Don't forget to drink lots of water."

"I will."

"Good night, Richie."

"'Night, Eddie."

Richie closed the door behind Eddie and was halfway back to the couch when there was a knock.

He headed back to the door and opened it, surprised to see Eddie standing there. "Eddie?"

"Do you ever think about that night in the park?" Eddie asked.

Richie was taken aback. "What?"

"I barely know you," Eddie began. "I don't know your parents' names or if they're still around, or where you're from, or what your favorite food is, or even how you became a wedding planner… but that night in the park when we danced there was something  _ so _ familiar about you and I can't get it out of my head. I don't know what it means exactly but Richie..."

Richie's eyes welled with tears.  _ No, not now, please… _

"Can you give me any reason why I shouldn't marry Myra?"

_ Yes, I can give you a million reasons, and they're all because I love you. I love you, Eddie Spaghetti, and I've never forgotten you.  _

"No," he said. "No, I can't give you a reason not to marry Myra."

"Oh." Eddie's shoulders drooped. "Ok then. Well, good night."

"Good night."

Richie shut the door once again, returned to the sofa, and cried himself to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning when Richie walked into his office he was greeted by one of the junior assistants, Adrian. "Rich, you'll never guess what happened over the weekend?" Adrian said excitedly, showing off a shiny new gold band on his ring finger. "Don asked me to marry him, and I said _yes!_ It was the most romantic proposal--" He cut himself off. "Hey Richie, you okay?"

"What?" Not only was Richie a successful wedding planner, but he was also a successful matchmaker, not only having introduced Ben and Beverly, but also Adrian and his now-fiance' Don. Richie mentally shook himself. "Oh congratulations, Ade. I'm so happy for you two. I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well last night and I'm just not functioning at 100 percent. You'll have to tell me the proposal story later, ok?" 

"Ok, will do. Want me to go grab you a coffee from Hanlon's?"

"You're the sweetest, thanks."

"Iced vanilla latte, two pumps?"

"Make it with an extra shot of espresso and you've got it."

Richie walked into his office and stopped in his tracks when he saw Myra standing near his desk. "Myra? What's the matter?"

"I came back early," Myra replied.

"I can see that. Why? I mean, is everything okay?"

"I've figured something out. I mean, I can't believe I didn't see it before, but now it's so obvious."

Richie started to sweat. "Ok, look, I can explain. It's not what you think it is."

"Oh yes it is." Myra took a deep breath. "I can't go through with this wedding."

Richie paused. "What?"

"I was sitting in a meeting talking about microchips and all of a sudden it hit me: I can't marry Cass. The way he snores drives me nuts. I can't stand the way he takes his coffee, and even his music taste is terrible!" 

She huffed out a breath as she sat down on the sofa in Richie's office. "I've been with him so long that I feel like I  _ have _ to marry him, but am I settling? Is this really the man I'm going to tether myself to for the rest of my life?"

Richie sat next to her. "Look at me, Myra. You are absolutely radiant. You have a man named Eddie who loves you more than anything. You know what he said to me yesterday? He said, ‘How did I get to be so lucky as to spend the rest of my life with the most beautiful woman in the world?’ I can’t wait to marry her'."

Myra sniffled. "He really said that?"

Richie nodded as his heart broke even more. "I know you two will be very happy together."

"Thank you, Richie."

Richie's smile dropped as Myra wrapped him in a hug.

* * *

The next three weeks were filled with wedding dress fittings, tux fittings, and finalizing details for multiple weddings. Richie hadn't seen Eddie since that night at his apartment and had been dealing exclusively with Myra.

The day of the wedding, Steve called Richie and Patty into his office. "Richie, Patty, have a seat."

They sat. "What is it, Steve?"

"Well Richie, you did it. You pulled this wedding together, guaranteed us a spread in  _ Bride _ magazine, and got us 6 new bookings based on referrals in the past 3 months. So as promised… Patty, this comes with a promotion to senior planner for you too, as part of Richie's terms."

Patty turned to Richie. "Really?"

Richie nodded. "You've earned it, Pats."

Steve reached over and pulled out a stack of paperwork. "Here's your new agreement... partner."

_ Partner _ . It was everything Richie had wanted, but somehow he still felt hollow. He read over the partnership agreement, and finding it satisfactory, signed it.

"Now to celebrate!" Steve opened the personal refrigerator he kept in his office and pulled out a bottle of champagne. He poured three glasses and handed one each to Richie and Patty.

"A toast to a beautiful partnership -- and our newest senior planner. Cheers!"

Richie raised his glass. "L'Chaim!"

"L'Chaim," Patty echoed. They each took a swig of their champagne and set their glasses down. "Now if you'll excuse us," Richie said as he and Patty stood, "we have a wedding to attend."

They made their way over to the venue and dove into setting up. Richie was so busy directing the florist, musicians, photographer, videographer, and other various staff that he almost forgot that this was  _ Eddie's _ wedding… until he saw Eddie getting out of the limo.

Richie's heart clenched.  _ It's for the best. _

He took a deep breath. "I'm gonna go check on Myra, ok?" he said to Patty. 

"Okay." Patty said quickly, directing some business associate of Myra's dad to his seat.

Richie walked over to the tent where Myra had been getting ready. "Knock knock," he said.

"Come in!"

Richie poked his head in before stepping in all the way. "Myra, you look beautiful."

And she truly did. Myra had a beautiful, white spaghetti-strap dress with an embossed bodice. Her blonde hair had been swept up and secured with strategically placed rhinestones.

Myra smiled in the mirror at Richie then turned to face him. "Richie, what would I have done without you?"

"Everything is beautiful," Mrs. Walker added.

"Superb!" Mr. Walker chimed in. "I have to be honest, I wasn't too sure about a male wedding planner but you did a wonderful job."

"Thank you." Richie turned back to Myra. "You need anything?"

"A couple of shots of 150-proof vodka?" Myra replied.

Richie laughed. "You'll be fine."

Myra gave Richie one last brief hug. "Thank you again, Richie."

"You're welcome. Now knock him dead."

Richie left the tent and headed back to Patty. "Hey, I've gotta run but everything looks good to go here."

"Don't worry, I've got this." Patty gave Richie a hug. "You know I'm here for you, right? Love you, Rich."

"I know. Love you too, Pats."

Richie took one last look at the archway where Eddie would be getting married in a few hours, then turned and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've seen the movie you know we're switching to Eddie's PoV for the next chapter, which will be the second-to-last one! Almost to the endgame, folks.


	12. Chapter 12

Eddie stood outside of Myra's tent. _I have to do this,_ he thought, then walked inside.

Myra was in front of the mirror, examining herself in her dress. She looked down at her engagement ring, then glanced up and spotted Eddie in the mirror. "Honey, what are you doing here?" she asked. "You know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"You look beautiful," Eddie said sincerely.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?"

Eddie held out his hand. "Let's go for a walk."

"A walk? We're going to start soon."

"Yeah, a walk. Come on, it's ok."

He took Myra by the hand and led her to a path away from the wedding guests.

"Seriously, what are we doing?" Myra asked. 

"I need you to answer a question for me," Eddie replied. He took a deep breath. "Why do you want to marry me?"

"What?" Myra took a step back. "Eddie, honey, you're scaring me."

Eddie tilted his head. "You never call me Eddie."

"That's because you don't like it."

Eddie shook his head. "No, I told you I don't like being called Eddie- _Bear_. My mother called me that."

He took Myra's hands. "Why do you want to marry me, Myra?"

A look of understanding passed over Myra's face. "You're trying to dump me on my wedding day, aren't you?" 

She yanked her hands from Eddie's. "This is _not_ happening right now, oh my god."

"Myra, Myra, honey," Eddie tried to explain.

"Don't you 'Myra, honey' me, you selfish son of a bitch! I can't believe you're doing this right now."

"Myra, listen to me. We just kind of fell together in college and are two totally different people, and I think you agree with me."

Myra looked up at him.

"Look, Myra, if you really love me, then I'll go finish getting ready and we'll go get married right now."

"Really?" Myra asked shakily.

"Yes, I would."

Myra sat down on a nearby bench. "Oh my god. All those people are waiting for us."

"And you don't even know most of them," Eddie countered. 

He held out a hand. "So what do you say?"

Myra bit her lip and let out a shaky breath. "No," she finally said. "No, I don't want to get married. Not to you."

"Ok then." Eddie looked over and saw the limo waiting for them. "Why don't you go ahead and take the limo. I can find my own way home." He paused. "There's two tickets to Fiji for our honeymoon. I want you to go and give my ticket to someone -- like Celeste, perhaps?"

Myra looked up at Eddie in surprise. "What do you mean?" 

Eddie smiled softly. "I noticed last night at the rehearsal dinner that you look at her a certain way. It's okay--" he added when Myra began to protest. "--because I feel the same way about someone else too."

Myra stood. "I do love you, Cass-- Eddie." She smiled sadly. "Just not in that way."

Eddie nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Tell her how you feel."

"Thank you, Eddie."

He watched as Myra walked away, then headed towards the staging area where Patty stood conversing with the videographer.

"Where's Richie?" he asked.

"He's at the courthouse with Stan for the wedding," she answered. "Why aren't you dressed yet?"

"He's with Stan?" _Oh god, they got back together._ "Oh my god, I have to go."

"Wait, what about your wedding?"

"It's been cancelled!"

Eddie ran over to Bill. "Bill, where's your car?"

Bill pointed in the direction of his car. "It's right over there."

"I need you to take me to the courthouse. Right now."

"But what about--"

"I'll explain on the way."

They ran to Bill's car and jumped in. "Richie's about to get married and I can't let him."

Bill looked over at Eddie and grinned as they pulled out of the parking lot. "Finally figured things out?"

"Yes. Figured out a lot of things, actually." _Figured out I'm gay. Figured out Myra's also gay. Figured out why Richie seemed so familiar._ "Come on, come on… please don't let me be too late…"

They made it to the courthouse in record time, Bill pulling up at the curb as Eddie flung the door open and ran for the courthouse steps.

"Eddie?"

He stopped as he heard Stan's voice. "Stan! Stan, where's Richie?"

"What are you doing here, Eddie?"

"I'm in love with him." Eddie shook his head. "And I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to happen, but I can't let him marry you without at least telling him."

"We're not engaged."

Eddie blinked. "What? Wait, you guys called off the wedding?"

Stan shook his head and shrugged casually. "Actually, we were never engaged. I'm straight. And married to Patty."

Eddie blinked. "But Patty said -- whose wedding was she talking about then?" Eddie finally looked around and noticed Mike from the bakery, Ben from the park, and Beverly from the tux shop all looking at him in amusement. "Wait, I know all of you."

"Yeah, we're all friends of Richie's," Bev supplied. "And Ben and I just got married. Richie was one of our witnesses."

"Congratulations," Eddie said automatically.

Bill walked up at that moment. "Eddie, did you find Rich…" He trailed off as he spotted Mike. "...Chie?"

He smiled at Mike. "Hi, I'm Bill. Bill Denbrough. I'm a friend of Eddie's."

Mike smiled back at Bill. "I'm Mike Hanlon. Richie's friend."

Everyone watched in amusement as Bill and Mike moved off to the side in order to talk and ignore everyone but each other.

"Anyway, where's Richie?" Eddie asked.

Stan rolled his eyes at Mike and Bill, who looked like they were about 2 seconds from running up the courthouse steps and getting married themselves. "Come on, I'll take you to him."


	13. Chapter 13

Richie tugged his suit jacket down before sitting on "his" tree branch in Central Park as he waited for that evening's "Shakespeare in the Park" presentation of _Much Ado About Nothing_ to begin.

He sighed as he dumped a handful of peanut M&Ms into his palm, picking out all of the brightly-colored candies.

"Why are you only eating the brown ones?" a voice asked from behind him, causing Richie to startle.

He turned to see Eddie standing behind him smiling softly, still in his tux from his wedding but sans tie and cumberbund.

"Because someone once told me that they have less artificial coloring since chocolate's already brown," Richie replied.

"Sounds like a smart guy," Eddie grinned.

Richie shrugged. "Well, he _is_ a doctor, so I figured he knew what he was talking about."

Eddie climbed over the tree branch and slowly sat next to Richie.

"Where's Myra?" Richie asked.

"She's in Fiji on our honeymoon," Eddie replied. "With her maid of honor."

"Oh." Richie's heart began to race.

"We didn't get married, Richie."

"Why not?"

"Because Myra needed to be her own person, _find_ her own person."

Richie swallowed. "And what does Eddie want?"

Eddie smiled as the pre-show music filtered out of the speakers. "I want to dance… with you."

Richie smiled. "Okay."

Eddie got up and extended a hand. "Shall we then?"

He led Richie a few feet away from their perch and slid a hand around his waist. "I talked to Stan while I was looking for you."

Richie winced. "Yeah um, about Stan..."

Eddie grinned and shook his head. "It's okay, he told me everything."

Eddie licked his lips. "So funny story… Last night I was going through some old pictures because Myra wanted a baby picture for the cake table. Well, I ran across a strip of photos from that vacation I told you about, the one where I met that boy, and I think I know why you remind me of him…"

He stopped swaying and held Richie's gaze. "I've missed you, Trashmouth." 

Richie smiled softly, his heart fluttering at Eddie's use of his old nickname for Richie. "I've missed you too, Eddie Spaghetti."

"God, _Richie._ " Eddie reached up and grabbed onto the lapel of Richie's suit, pulling him down and pressing his lips to Richie's own.

Richie's eyes fluttered shut as he wrapped his arms around Eddie, pulling him closer.

Eddie broke the kiss and took a step back as the opening credits to the movie began to roll. "If you're not busy this evening would you like to see a movie with me?"

Richie grinned. "It's a date."

They sat together on his ( _their_ ) tree branch, Richie wrapping an arm around Eddie's waist as Eddie snuggled into his side.

Richie reached out and took Eddie's left hand, gently caressing his ring finger with his thumb. "I'm so glad you didn't marry Myra."

"I'm glad you weren't ever really engaged to Stan," Eddie replied, looking up at him. 

Richie grinned. "You know I've proposed several times, but he just seems really devoted to Patty for some reason."

Eddie huffed out a laugh. "Your friends really love you, you know." 

Richie nodded. "Yeah, I know. They're the best."

"I'm looking forward to getting to know them better."

"Well, we can start at game night on Monday." Richie hesitated. "I can introduce them to my new boyfriend."

Eddie grinned, then caressed Richie's face with his free hand before guiding him into another kiss. "I'd like that."

* * *

_Four Months Later_

"Richie, babe, come on, Patty's going to come looking for us," Eddie complained halfheartedly as Richie sucked a mark underneath his collar where no one would see it, but both he and Richie would know of its existence.

Richie soothed the spot with his tongue. "Our friends can wait," he replied. "Can't exactly start the wedding without the grooms, can they?"

Eddie bit back a moan. "Maybe, but _you_ were the one who insisted on getting married at sunset. If we don't get down there soon the timing for the ceremony is going to be off."

"Okay, okay." Richie grinned and stood. "Ready?"

Eddie took Richie's hand and kissed the spot where Richie's engagement ring lay. "Ready."

They exited their rented beach house hand-in-hand and headed down the pier to the simple archway on the beach, where their 6 closest friends were waiting to watch them start their new life together.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has commented, kudoed, and followed along with this adventure.
> 
> There will be a one-shot 'deleted scene' coming soon, probably in the next day or so, so stay tuned!


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